A Lesson in Passive Aggression

Sometimes I worry that as women, we are losing our hard-won ability to be passive-aggressive. When was the last time, for instance, a friend was angry at you for months, and only let her feelings slip out in tiny, ineffectual backhanded compliments over brunch?

Never, right?

Well, here’s a great lesson for those of us who feel like we’re handling our problems a little too directly, and maybe, too, for those among us who know that we could be a little more apologetic about our feelings. In this note, writer “B” does an admirable job of chipping away at this growing problem.

Notice how “B” waits until the second post-script to unleash what winds up being a surprising amount of murderous venom at her roommate (we presume), Angie, the note’s recipient. B is then sure to make clear that she would only use a fake weapon to beat the crap out of Angie. She follows up with a smiley face, signs off with the word “Love,” and in conclusion, makes an unthreatening remark about the scent of her marker, to ensure that none of what she said was taken too seriously.

After all, you’d have to be crazy to really want to beat up your roommate…ha…ha…